Virtual identity is the digital identity of the individuals that they construct according to their preferences. These identities have the potential to be used to explain every behavior in the social networking environment. Virtual identities were examined under four headings; sharing, liking, privacy and security. In order to be accepted in the virtual world, the individual who uses virtual identity may choose to exhibit a view consistent with the general norms of society. This preference triggers the regulation of virtual identity profiles in social networks in line with the purposes of social network usage as well as the desire for acceptance and approval. Therefore, the focus of this research is how virtual identities in social networks relate to approval dependence and social network use purposes. This research was conducted with 577 volunteers who participated voluntarily through social networks using online data collection tool. According to the results of the research, while the indicators of social network usage purpose, virtual identity profiles and approval dependence were all above average, it is seen that communication is prominent in usage purposes, and sharing is prominent in the use of virtual identity. Findings show that while men mostly regard the privacy aspect, women regard the security aspect of virtual identities in social networks. Furthermore, social network usage purposes, approval dependence and virtual identity profiles have moderate meaningful relationships with each other.